Bugged
by LokiFenokee
Summary: When swarms of bugs drive Maui and a young Tamatoa off a beach, they encounter strange things inland. A one-shot in the "Future Legend" universe.


It should have been a beautiful day. The previous day's stiff breeze had swept all the clouds out to sea, leaving a sky so clear you could see practically forever. The sun was high and warm overhead and the sea beneath it was painted in shades of deep azure and brilliant turquoise. Gentle waves lapped at the shore, barely stirring the crystalline waters with flecks of sparkling sea foam.

It should have been perfect. It would have been, too, if not for the bugs.

Maui had brought them to this little island to rest and resupply as they island hopped through the area in search of new adventures. He was still getting used to having a companion along on his journeys, but he had to admit that the tiny crab monster that he had brought out of Lalotai made for good company. True, Tamatoa never shut up and had a ravenous appetite that necessitated carrying significantly more supplies, but having him along meant that Maui was never lonely or lacking for conversation. He had come so close to just walking away and leaving the little crab behind in Lalotai, but now Maui was endlessly grateful that he had not done so. He was sure he'd made the right choice.

Coming to this island, on the other hand, was a choice he was now not so sure of.

They had slept under the stars the night before on this very beach without any problems. However, as morning gave way to afternoon, great swarming hoards of insects had descended upon them. Flying bugs of all sorts swarmed the cove, harassing them relentlessly. Stubborn as ever, Maui was determined to enjoy the glorious day and the pretty beach, though. So, they moved from spot to spot along the sand. The bugs followed. As soon as they settled in a new place, the clouds of critters began buzzing around them once more.

Tamatoa, still small enough to fit in Maui's hands and wearing the spiral shell he'd brought with him from Lalotai, snapped ineffectively at the pests with tiny pincers in growing frustration, his claws closing mostly on empty air. When those efforts failed, he scrambled up a tall, jagged rock formation in an attempt to escape them on higher ground. For a moment, the strategy seemed to work, but then the insects found him and swirled around again. With an angry squeak, he finally gave up and retreated inside his shell, blocking the opening with his pincers to keep the bugs at bay.

On the beach below, Maui was having no better luck. He swatted endlessly at the swarm, without success. He even waded out into the water until he was submerged up to his nose, but they followed him there-buzzing in his ears and alighting in his hair. When one landed on his nose and just brazenly stayed there flexing its wings casually, that was the last straw.

"Okay," he announced loudly, emerging from the water quickly and brushing furiously at the bugs that landed on his wet skin. "I've had enough of this! Let's go inland."

High up on his rock and tucked safely into his shell with just his antennae poking out, Tamatoa let out a relieved sigh. "Finally!" He emerged from within the shell and scrambled down the rocks, angrily snapping at the bugs that followed him down.

Maui scooped up the crab in his hands, earning him a mildly annoyed look that Maui ignored. He set Tamatoa on his shoulder and together they made a hasty and undignified retreat from the beach and into the shaded trees. To their great relief, the buzzing swarm did not follow them past the edge of the sandy cove.

It was cool within the forest, with dappled light streaming in thin shafts through the canopy of leaves above. Birds chirped and sang gaily in the branches above them. Part of Maui wished they'd lay off the singing and get to work clearing out the raging insect infestation this island seemed to have instead.

Maui felt something tugging at his hair and looked out of the corner of his eye at the crab. Perched on his shoulder, Tamatoa was busily picking stranded insects out of his tangled curls and stuffing them in his mouth. Sometimes the crab was just so weird, but Maui wasn't about to complain this time.

They went deeper into the forest. They had ventured in just far enough to collect adequate food supplies the day before, but hadn't done much exploring beyond that. Now seemed as good a time as any to see what the island had to offer, Maui supposed, so they pressed on. It was pleasant enough in the woods and anything was better than dealing with those bugs.

Having apparently cleaned the last of the bugs out of Maui's hair, Tamatoa was now humming softly to himself as they wandered the forest. As such, Maui did not immediately notice when the birds overhead fell silent. He did, however, notice when the crab let his own song trail off suddenly and the silence enveloped them both.

They stood in a clearing where the air was still and heavy. No breeze rustled the branches of the trees overhead, nor did any birdsong cut the ominous stillness. All around the perimeter of the clearing, there were massive stone obelisks. They were carved into primitive shapes-warped images vaguely human-like in nature, but lacking definition and unsettling in their twisted resemblance to familiar forms.

Maui eyed them with suspicion. As far as he knew, no humans had ever inhabited this particular isle. How would these even get here? On his shoulder, Tamatoa seemed ill at ease as well and gripped him tighter with his many legs.

Nevertheless, Maui was curious. The stone pillars angled around the edges of the clearing and marched in two parallel lines towards the darkened mouth of a stone cavern. The cavern was hung with stalactites, like dark stone teeth within it's maw.

Maui started towards the cave, which elicited a startled chirp in his ear.

"Are we going in _there?_ " Tamatoa asked, eyeing the cave with distrust.

Maui grinned, turning his head to look at the crab. "Yep. C'mon, it'll be fun!"

Tamatoa looked at the sinister, dark entrance to the cave, then at the deformed statuary, then back to Maui. Then back to the cave again. "Uh," he began, "I don't think that's a good ide-"

Maui interrupted with a laugh. "It'll be fine," he assured him. Then he had a better idea and dangled a lure for the crab, "besides, who knows what sort of treasures might be in there."

Tiny antennae perked at that. "Yeah?"

"Oh yeah, of course! I bet it's loaded with cool stuff," Maui told him smoothly.

If one knew the right way to go about it, sometimes it was just too easy to bring the crab around. This time was no different. Tamatoa looked back at the cave entrance once more, but now with a more willing light in his eyes. "Okay," he agreed. "Let's go!"

Maui smiled at this little victory, then started on into the cavern.

They hadn't gone far into the cave, still warmly lit by the outside light pouring in through the entrance, when the ground began to slope downward and Maui's foot suddenly splashed into water. He looked down and found himself standing in a shallow pool of cool, clear water that extended wall-to-wall inside the cavern. It wasn't terribly deep, only reaching midway up his calf. Tamatoa, however, peered down from Maui's shoulder at it with obvious distaste. The water would be well over the little crab's head-plenty sufficient to drown him if he fell in. Maui felt little legs cling tighter to his shoulder.

Maui walked on a little farther, slogging through the shallow water. There was still enough faint light from the outside here to see well enough, but that didn't prevent Maui from suddenly stepping on something sharp and unseen under the water. With a short yelp, he lifted his foot to see what he had trod upon. Tamatoa, who had sharp little eyes better suited to the dark, looked down as well and let out a tiny gasp.

The ground under the water was littered with glittering shells, gleaming pearls, and other sparkling gems.

The crab made a small, excited noise close to his ear, leaning as far over to look as he could without losing his balance and falling off. His little claws were outstretched, grasping longingly at the goodies under the water-so far out of reach for him.

Maui grinned, amused at the young crab's rather adorable antics. Well, he _had_ told him there'd be treasure in here, after all. Maui leaned down to reach into the water and retrieve a trinket for his friend. As soon as his fingers broke the surface of the pool, however, there came a sudden grinding noise.

With a heavy snap, something blocked the entrance of the cavern and plunged them into total darkness.

Uhoh.

Maui straightened in the darkness. There came a soft flicker of light beside his face as Tamatoa's bioluminescence lit up. Over time and after many curious questions, Maui had figured out that the crab's colorful natural lights were mostly involuntary, though he apparently had some minimal control over it-a trick that would likely be refined and perfected as he got older until he had full control. This time, though, it seemed to fall under the domain of the former, as the crab was clearly alarmed.

Well, that was a fair reaction. Maui could hardly claim to not be alarmed as well. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, after all.

He hardly had time to consider that line of thought when a brilliant red glow was illuminated before them.

Maui squinted at the light, which resembled a pair of glowing eyes. His hook was back at the canoe, left behind in their haste to escape the insect invasion, but he braced himself for whatever creature was about to emerge. Then thin lines of ruby light trailed quickly away from the eyes, tracing jagged patterns in the dark until a full shape was revealed.

It was not, as he first thought, a creature after all. It was another giant stone figure, carved with a sinister face and crooked patterns, all lit by the red light. Maui wasn't sure that this boded any better for them than a simple monster, though. He had precious little experience with angry, glowing stone idols, but he was pretty sure they didn't mean anything good.

A hollow voice boomed in the dark, rattling stones from the stalactites overhead to splash into the still water below. "You have disturbed these sacred waters!" it howled in accusation.

Oh yeah, this didn't sound good.

The voice went on. "For your trespass, you will never leave this cave!"

Something splashed, unseen, in the water somewhere beyond the stone idol and there was a harsh hissing sound, followed by what might be scales sliding on stone. It was unclear whether the voice was coming from the idol or whatever lurked behind it, however.

Maui was considering his next move, trying to figure out the best way out of this mess, when the voice rang out again.

"Unless-" it began once more. Maui's lip quirked into a half grin-an 'unless' was always a good thing. "-you can answer these five questions!"

At this, Maui almost chuckled. Maybe it was some sort of biological imperative for monsters and evil spirits to insert loopholes? He didn't know, but he'd take it for the opportunity it was.

Maui smirked with a renewed cockiness and called into the darkness. "Well, let's hear it!"

There came an angry hiss from deeper in the cave, clearly displeased with his arrogance.

Regardless, the voice boomed again. "Very well, wretch!"

Beside his ear, he thought he heard Tamatoa giggle quietly. Then there was a whisper from the crab, "so dramatic!"

Maui had to work hard to restrain himself from laughing now too. He forced his face into one of seriousness, though the facade was clearly cracking before it even started.

"First question!" the voice thundered. "What is easy to get into, but hard to get out of?"

Ah, so it was riddles then. Maui was, admittedly, not the best at riddles. This one, however, was ridiculously simple-something Maui was, of course, intimately familiar with. "Trouble," he answered without hesitation, not bothering to hide his impertinent smirk.

There was another angry hiss, followed by a harsh splash.

"Correct." The voice came again, though it was clearly displeased. "Second question! You can see me in water, but I never get wet."

Maui paused, thinking about this one for a moment. His thoughts were interrupted, though, by a little squeak by his ear.

"Oo, I know!" Tamatoa said eagerly. "A reflection!"

It figured that the crab would know that. Ever since he'd discovered that he could see his own image in certain reflective surfaces, he had become enamored with it. For a plain little crab, he was enormously vain.

"Correct," came the voice, clearly growing more irritated. A low growl echoed from somewhere in the cave. "Third question! You will always find me in the past. I can be created in the present. But the future can never taint me. What am I?"

Maui contemplated this, running over the words in his mind again. Then he winced slightly, a slight twinge as the answer came to him. There was one thing he could never run far enough from. "History," he said, some of the bluster taken out of is tone.

There came a frustrated yowl from deep within the cavern now. The voice rang out steadily, however. "Correct. Fourth question! I am a ship that can be made to ride the greatest waves. I am not built by tool, but built by hearts and minds. What am I?"

A ship not built by tools? Maui thought of his own canoe, sturdy and seaworthy. He thought of the hundreds upon hundreds of other canoes he had seen and the countless mortals he had taught to sail them. What sort of ship was built without tools? What could-

Tamatoa's voice broke into his thoughts, interrupting his train of thought. "Friendship!" he blurted brightly, then gave Maui a fond look.

"Correct!" replied the voice.

Maui blinked, caught off guard. Then his confusion faded into a warm smile. Oh, of course.

Tamatoa was excited now, enjoying this little game. "What's next? C'mon! Last one!" Maui grinned at his friend.

"Final question!" the voice roared, shaking the very walls. "We hurt without moving. And poison without touching. We bear truth and lies, but are not judged by size. What are we?"

Tamatoa looked thoughtful, but then looked at Maui expectantly when it was clear he didn't know this one. Maui felt his stomach twist just a bit. He knew the answer to this one well. "Words," he answered, his tone carefully neutral.

There came a howl of rage and thwarted ambition from within the cave. Something big was thrashing furiously in the water, hidden out of sight in the dark. Nevertheless, the voice called out as before. "Correct!" The yowling in the dark went on and on. "You are free to leave, but do not return!" instructed the voice, booming over the angry screeching.

The red lights on the idol instantly vanished, plunging them back into the pitch black dark. Maui tensed, waiting for an attack that never came. Instead, there came a low rumbling, then the sound of stone scraping against stone.

Sunlight poured in, illuminating the cavern once more and bringing a gust of fresh air into its confines. The entry was clear and open again.

Needing no encouragement, Maui hurried out before whatever was in the cavern could change it's mind. His feet splashed loudly in the water and Tamatoa clung steadfastly to his shoulder as they made their getaway. Once they stepped from the mouth of the cave into the light, there was a loud thud behind them. The cavern had shut itself once more, sealed as if there was no cave there at all.

They stared at it for a few beats, saying nothing. Then Tamatoa began to laugh on his shoulder. "You were right, that _was_ fun!" he exclaimed between giggles. "Even if we didn't get any treasure."

Maui grinned at him. "Well," he drawled, "that's not entirely true." He reached into the waistband of his tapa cloth and withdrew a small murex shell, gleaming with a sparkling golden iridescence in the afternoon light. He had pocketed it slyly as the lights went out, without whatever creature guarding the cavern noticing. Maui held it out to the little crab.

Tamatoa's eyes went wide, gleaming with excitement. "For me?" he asked, as if it were too good to be true.

"Yep," Maui told him. "For my tiny crab monster friend."

The crab's expressive features lit up with a radiant smile. He deftly plucked the pretty shell from Maui's fingers and held it up to the light to examine it joyfully.

When he could draw his eyes from it's bright sheen, Tamatoa looked back to Maui with nothing but fond affection. "That riddle was right. Friendship really is the best ship," he said, matter-of-factly.

Maui smiled in return. Once again, he was reminded how glad he was to have brought the little crab to the surface world with him. Surely, it was the best decision he'd ever made.


End file.
